All Again For You
by genuine beautyy
Summary: Nick had promised Jeff that he was done with the past and was moving on. But the past found him and made him do one small, yet dangerous task. He was just trying to protect his best friend.
1. He did it for you

**Author's Note:  
><strong>As much as I'd like to own the characters, I do not.  
>However, I do own the unfamiliar characters.<br>Enjoy (:

* * *

><p>Nick claimed that he hadn't been feeling well. The first few days of his absence in classes weren't out of the ordinary. It only became strange to Jeff when the desk to his left in English had begun to collect dust. He'd been told by Ms Rinvers, the Dalton Academy nurse, that Nick had been sent taken home. Of course, being the best friend, Jeff had called and texted many times with no replies in return. However, something didn't set right with the blonde Warbler; his stomach was in knots of fear.<p>

"If you pace anymore, you're going to burn a hole in the floor," Flint spoke. His voice had a subtle annoyed tone that was attached. Yet the tall, blonde boy ignored this one sided conversation. "Jeff."

"Jeff!" David repeated Flint. "You're giving me motion sickness, sit down."

So he stopped and stared out the window of the Warbler study hall blankly. The two other boys exchanged a brief glance. Rain drizzled down the window, the miserable weather outside matched Jeff's mood. He turned to the boys sitting on the leather couch and muttered, "I'm going to go study." Neither Flint nor David protested that they _were_ in the study hall for studying purposes.

Jeff departed the room with the goodbyes of his friends being nothing but a ghost sound in his mind. Everything outside was damp from the let up rain, but the familiar smell of it lingered in the air. The route towards his dormitory was quiet for a Thursday night only because most of Dalton was studying for finals.

The entire dormitory was silent as well which surprised Jeff seeing as how this was the rowdiest out of all the houses on campus. But this didn't faze him.

Passing by the common room, the blonde made his way up the staircase to his room. His floor was mainly filled with fellow Warblers. Each room you'd walk by would have some type of soundtrack or Top 40 song playing. Blaine, being the mainstream type, had Katy Perry on (which was no surprise to anyone). Trent and Wes had musicals on: Trent had _Wicked _and Wes had _RENT_. But the singing voices became muted in Jeff's head.

Near the end of the hallway Jeff's slow pace came to a stop as he reached his room. His hand gripped the brass knob tightly, his knuckles turning white. His blonde-white bangs covered his tired brown eyes as his head was down. However, out of the corner of his eye there was a bright light in the dim hallway. The boy raised his head and tilted it. Nick's door was cracked open, and there was music playing.

He crept towards the room across the hall, curiosity building with every step he took. Has Nick returned? Why wouldn't he have replied to a text? Why wouldn't he have sent Jeff a text saying he was back?

Jeff pushed opened the door slowly, "Nick…?"

The room was totalled, a complete disaster. Clothes and books were scattered everywhere in the dorm room. It almost seemed as if a tornado had struck, yet, no one was in the room. Jeff inched himself in placing his books on the side table. The music he had heard was on loop coming from the sound system across the room. It was _Musetta's Waltz_.

A gust of wind swept across the room causing papers to dance in the air. Jeff rushed over just as the rain started to pour down again. He pushed down the window, groaning as it was stubborn to close, but it shut. Jeff noticed a red mark on his the tip of his finger. He turned his hands over and the red mark covered his palm and fingers completely. _What the hell, red paint?_ He questioned. However, it didn't smell like paint.

His eyes broke away from his hands to the desk where there were red droplets, fresh red droplets. Jeff knitted his brows together and his brown eyes followed the trail of droplets. They continued down to the floor towards Nick's bed. There were even smears of hand prints on the white walls.

Jeff had grown nervous as he knelt down to where the trail stopped. Hesitantly, he reached under the bed retrieving a plastic bag with clothes inside. He dumped the articles on the floor and gasped. It was Nick's Dalton uniform teared apart and covered in the red. The worst was the white dress shirt: a whole area covered with red. It was Jeff's worst fear, it was blood. New and old blood.

He rose to his feet quickly, stumbling backwards and knocking over the lamp on the small table causing it to break. His heart was pounding as every horror plot line raced through his mind. His eyes blurred as a layer of liquid covered them.

"Nick, is that—Jeff?" Blaine's voice was recognizable. Jeff stood back against the wall with his knees buckling and muscles shaking. "Jeff! Jeff, what happened in here? What's going on?"

The blonde's lips trembled and no words would come out. He clenched the shirt tightly. Through his blurred vision, Jeff could see the dapper male in front of him. Blaine's hands gripped Jeff's forarms and his lips were moving but they seemed to be so quiet.

"What is this?" Blaine referred to the messy shirt. "What the fuck happened to Nick, Jeff?" And then the worst question: "What did you do to him?"

Jeff forcefully pushed Blaine across the room, his eyes darkening. "I didn't do. Anything." But Jeff knew it was always one of those questions that wracked people's brain. "I did nothing."

Blaine nodded, knowing that Jeff wouldn't ever do something so… horrid. He apologized in a whisper and started to move himself towards his friend. But Blaine's words meant nothing now. Whatever he was saying was just muted to Jeff. Blaine had pulled out his phone to dial the police.

Suddenly, Jeff's own phone blared a ring. He squinted his eyes to see the caller ID: Carson. Nick's older sister.

"Carson?"

"Jeff!" Her voice was crackling. "You have to help him. You have to help Nick!"

"Where is he? What happened?"

"He had no choice!" Carson yelled. It sounded like she was sobbing through the broken conversation. "They were going to kill him, then you!"

Jeff's eyes widened. Blaine could hear every word clearly and started a fit.

"Where is he? Where is he, Carson?" Jeff began to panic.

"44 Bretford Ave." The crackling continued as Carson replied. Anger built up quickly, Jeff knew the address to well. "He had no choice, Jeff!"

"I'm going to get him. You need to be somewhere safe. Come to Dalton, Blaine will be at the gates to get you." Jeff hung up the phone shortly after. Blaine stared with a knowing look. Jeff said nothing and bolted out of the room.

"I thought he was done with this!" Blaine called out, going after the blonde. "He promised you! He promised us!"

Jeff ignored Blaine's loud words and jogged down the stairs. "I'm coming with you. Carson can stay with Wes." Jeff yielded at the door. "I'm not letting you go alone."

"You're not coming with me." Jeff opened the door slightly.

"Yes I am."

"Goddammit, Blaine!" The taller Warbler slammed the door shut causing heads to rise in the common room. "It's dangerous. You don't know what it's like. I'm not dragging you into this. This isn't your problem."

"It's always been my problem! It's everyone's goddamn problem: Wes, Flint, David, Thad, Trent…" Blaine paused. "You almost died once, this isn't happening again. It's always been our problem."

Jeff knew that Blaine wouldn't back down, so he said nothing and walked out into the rain. Both ran through puddles towards Blaine's car. As they approached, Carson stood at the gates completely drenched. Jeff walked towards her, her similar features to Nick's frightened him.

"You're going to stay with Wes."

"What about Blaine?" She questioned loudly over the rain. "You told him how dangerous this is, didn't you?" Jeff liked how he barely had to explain himself. Then Carson turned to Blaine, "So help me God, if anything happens—"

"Wes is waiting for you." Blaine cut her off just as finished replying to a text from Wes. He checked behind him to see if Wes was actually at the doors. "Go!"

Carson turned back to the blonde who looked anxious. She quickly hugged him, going up on her tip toes. "He had no choice. He did it for you, to keep you safe. He loves you." And with that, Carson was almost near Wes by the time Jeff realized what she had said.

Her worded lingered in the air as if they were written. "Jeff..." Blaine touched his friend's shoulder. Jeff shrugged off the hand and started towards the car.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	2. I Know What It's Like

**Author's Note:**  
>It's been a while since I updated this and I apologize. I've had this written for a while, I just needed to type this up.<br>Thanks for all the comments, I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

><p><em>Westerville, OH – <em>_**Three Hours Earlier**_

There was only one reason main reason why he was doing this, well, two to be exact: Jeff and Carson.

This was all so stupid. To think those years ago they were in it just for an escape but now they were in it for life—Nick was in it for life. It was worse now that he was a legal eighteen and could be imprisoned as an adult.

"Do you understand me, kid?" Nick zoned out of his thoughts and started to remember where he was and why he was there. A sudden chill shook his body and he gagged silently from the cigarette filled air. "I said, did you—"

"I heard you." Nick said calmly. "You promise that nothing will happen to either of them?"

"Well…" One of the seven mean that surrounded Nick was sitting at the table snickering. He leaned back in the chair, motioning for one of the men by the door. He whispered into the bigger built man's ear, and soon after he left. Nick kept is head low, his eyes closed. Too many thoughts raced through his mind.

"Don't touch me!" Nick's body jolted at the familiar shriek. The door was pushed open and the man returned pulling a dark haired girl with him. He spun her around, pushing her into the shady room. Her hands smacked against the metal table. Her long, dark hair covered her face. It wasn't until she raised her head that Nick's blood boiled. His own sister stood in front of him: bruised arms, a weak knees and tiny cuts on her arms and cheeks.

He breathed out, "Carson."

"Isn't she precious?" The tallest, Denver was what they called him, slid his fingers along Carson's collarbone and neck. She winced and whimpered at his touch.

Nick rose quickly; the chair he was sitting in flew back against the wall. "Don't touch her!" He yelled, nearly throwing himself to grab his sister. Two other men took hold of him and sprung him back.

Denver smirked and chuckled, "I'm only kidding, Nicky. Settle down." His grip on Carson tightens and a small paring knife was visible in his other hand. "Let's just say my hand, oh, happens to slip…" Carson began to panic.

"Don't hurt her!" Nick shouted again. "I'll do it, I'll do it! Just don't hurt her. Please."

"As you wish…"

Denver threw Carson towards Nick; she clung onto her brother tightly. "I can't promise the same for you little boyfriend, though." Nick's eyes narrowed. "Come on; let's leave Nicky here to finalize his decision."

Nick heaved a chair, throwing it at the closing door as the men left. He started to mutter, curse and pull at his hair.

"Nick. Nick, stop it." Carson pulled her younger brother into an embrace. "They don't have him. Jeff's not here."

"They don't go back on their word, Car!"

Carson stayed quiet for a moment. "They've been watching him for the past week you've been missing. Earlier, they were discussing letting me go."

"I need to do this. I need to make sure you two are safe."

"Nick…" Carson said weakly. "I can have the police here as soon as they let me out. It can all end here."

The brunette boy shook his head. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "Fuck." His voice was below a whisper. "It's not that simple. You only got a taste of what they are like. You don't…" He trailed off, sliding down the wall to sit on the cold cement ground. "I've seen people die, Car. People get shot, beaten up, stabbed—puncture wounds the size of golf balls… Hearing them beg for mercy over and over."

Carson kneeled down to her brother's level. She had noticed the dirt on his cheeks with a few small cuts too. She figured that he must have gotten into a little fight—well, she guessed by his bruised knuckles.

"This isn't like what you've seen in the movies. Granted, maybe just as bloody and strict as _The Departed_." He laughed shallowly. Then he stopped. Silence filled the air around the brother and sister. "I've been trafficking drugs since I was fourteen."

"You've never told me why. If it was for money, Nick, we have plenty otherwise you wouldn't be at Dalton."

Nick shook his head. "It wasn't about getting my fair share. It was about trying to find an escape. Jeff and I needed to get away from all the weird looks and the talks about how we were… different. So this is what we chose, and then both of us transferring to Dalton made things easier, not only for the dealing but for life in general. Jeff broke away from this part of our lives. It was almost like this never even existed to him."

There was a brief paused as Nick sat there, fingers laced together and his thumbs twiddling.

"Then one day I came into the dorm with a few cuts, a few bruises. Jeff freaked, telling me to let it go. So I did." Nick fumbled with his hands. "Once you belong to something you become attached."

"Like how you're attached to the Warblers?"

He nodded, the corners of his mother twitching. "Like how you get addicted to a drug."

In all honesty, Nick was surprised that Carson wasn't yelling or scolding him. But he knew she understood how difficult it had been for him and Jeff to constantly get taunted and ridiculed for being gay.

Transferring to Dalton did make things easier with their no tolerance policy for bullying and such. The being part of the Warblers… You're instantly untouchable—you're a rockstar and everybody loves you. Nick guessed that's why Jeff broke away so easily because he felt accepted somewhere else.

"Nick!" He snapped his attention back to his sister. "I hate when you zone out like that. It freaks me out." He mused an apology as he stood. "I'm going to get help as soon as I get out of here."

He half smiled. "No way I'm going to stop you, huh?" Carson shook her head. "Damn. Must obey the older Duval, then."

The door across the room was pushed opened and banged against the wall. Two of the seven men from before charged into the room taking a hold of Carson.

"You said you wouldn't hurt her." Nick's brown eyes narrowed at the two men. They only had to be at least a year older, or maybe younger, then him.

The dirty blonde one spoke, "We're just doing what we're told, man. She ain't getting hurt, I don't think…"

Nick took notice to both males complexion: they were sweating, not because of the lack of air conditioning in the warehouse; it was because they were nervous. Nick could relate. "You know, you don't have to do this. Get out while you can. You've only skimmed the surface."

"No, man." The taller, dark haired boy spoke. "We're in this until we die. This is all we have for us."

A sudden realization clicked into Nick's mind quickly. "Because you're different?" They glanced at each other briefly. "I know what that's like; the feeling that the world can be so cruel and you don't understand why. And how the people who are supposed to be your friends call you by these nasty names or beat you." Nick paused letting his words soak into them. "I know what it's like to have someone special in your life, you'll do anything to protect them. The thing is with me that I got addicted and now I'm in this position; the position of not only protecting my sister," He motioned to Carson. "But to protect Jeff. My Jeff, my other half, my world. My boyfriend."

The two boys remained silent for multiple moments. The dirty blonde one let go of Carson. "Adam, what the hell, man?"

"He understands the bullshit we've been through, Danny. He can relate!" Adam hissed at the dark haired boy. "We can't live in constant fear, especially not like this…" He trailed off turning to Nick. "We'll get your sister out of here without a problem. As for—"

"There's an exit at the back." Danny made an input. "We can't promise that you'll get out without a scratch, though." He walked over to the door, peering through the small opening. "Follow me."

Nick immediately grabbed onto Carson's hand. Even though she was older, she was a hella lot short so he had to keep her safe.

"No talking." Danny warned walking along side Adam. Their hands brushed multiple times as if they were anywhere but here, their fingers would be intertwined.

Carson stayed close to her brother as they wandered through the dark, dingy halls of the building. Adam and Danny came to a halt in between a split hall. Adam turned around, "This is where we depart. They only way to get Carson out safely."

"You'll have to go down the other one." Danny continued. "For obvious reasons such as being caught, you can't go out the front door."

Nick nodded pulling his sister to the side. "Are you going to be alright?"

"You don't always have to protect me. I'm not a little girl Nick." This caused Nick to smile a little. "I'll be fine once you get out of here, too."

Nick looked at his feet. "Don't tell Jeff, please. Not yet. I'll tell him." Even though he told Carson this there was going to be a good chance that the blonde would find out. However, Carson nodded. They hugged, Nick holding onto his sister for dear life. "I love you. I love Jeff. Always remember that."

* * *

><p><strong><em>To be continued...<em>**


End file.
